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Manga: Centaur No Nayami

Being a teenaged centaur can be rough sometimes.

Kimihara Himeno is a rather shy but friendly Japanese high school girl, the only daughter of an average middle-class family. She goes to a normal high school, hangs out with her close friends Nozomi and Kyouko, and generally has the same dreams and worries a girl her age is expected to have — like falling in love or simply mulling about whether or not she overeats everyday.

However, Himeno also happens to be a centaur. This in itself isn't much of a big deal though, when literally everyone else on the planet display characteristics that might mark them strange if they lived on our world — like wings, tails, and animal ears.

Written by Murayama Kei and serialized in Comic Ryuu magazine, Centaur no Nayami/セントールの悩み (or Centaur's Worries) follows Hime as she experiences first-hand the highs and lows of being a teenager along with her friends.

Although at first glace just another Slice of Life series that replaces humans with fantasy races, it soon becomes apparent that the author put a lot of thought into figuring out just how such races would act, live, and even interact with each other in a contemporary setting. The world-building is impressive, to say the least, and likely the main draw to non-Slice of Life fans.

Has been picked up for release in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment under the name A Centaur's Life.

Centaur's Worries gives examples of the following:

A Day in the Limelight:
- Chapter ten is all about Shino (Hime's little cousin) and her kindergarten woes.
- Likewise, chapter twelve focuses on Minami and her four little sisters, specifically the latter four's weekend at home alone with their friends.
- Sasasul gets several chapters focused on her.
Advanced Ancient Acropolis: The Antarcticans were the first civilization on Earth. It wasn't the Antarcticans' idea to become a Hidden Elf Village, rather their isolated home in Antarctica couldn't be reached easily before the invention of the plane.
Alternate Universe: Hime's world is very similar to ours, but evolution took a slightly different path that led to most land vertebrates being six-limbed and Antarctica being inhabited by intelligent reptiles.
And Now For Something Completely Different: Chapter 8.5. Seemingly set in the real world (meaning there are ordinary humans in it), it focuses on a puppy (with a girl's face) being taken care of by the daughter of the family.
Baseball Episode: Chapter 9. Unsurprisingly, centaurs make excellent baseball players.
Beauty Brains And Brawn: Hime (girly), Kyouko (sensible) and Nozomi (tomboy).
Big Fancy House: It turns out that the father's side of Hime's family owns one of these, a holdover from the time where the family were still landed Samurai.
Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Kyouko, Nozomi and Hime, respectively.
Boyish Short Hair: Nozomi. Justified, as she finds maintaining long hair like Hime's a big bother.
Buxom Is Better: Hime. She gets a love letter that actually it's just an appreciation of her bosom. And Nozomi agrees. A racial traits of mermaids, too, as Komori quickly points out.
Cat Species: A whole species of them. The Class Rep's father and her triplet sisters are examples of these.
Cheerful Child: Himeno's cousin Shino, and class rep Mitami Minami's triplet sisters.
Chekhov's Gun: Remember the movie that scared little Hime in chapter four? The Fear from Antarctica comes back to play a role later.
Clarke's Third Law: In chapter nineteen Kyouko discusses the similarities between really advanced science and magic with Sasasul derailing the scary storytelling and turning it into a skeptic's meeting for a moment.
Class Representative: Mitami Minami. Lampshaded in-series in how she was pretty much born for the role.
Clingy Jealous Girl: Shino doesn't want to share her cousin with anyone.
Cold War: The Antarcticans are depicted somewhat as the old USSR, opposed to this universe's USA.
Cool Big Sis: The Class Rep to her trio of catgirl sisters, and Himeno to her cousin Shino.
Cool Down Hug: Kyouko does this to her big brother after he is depressed from losing a baseball game. He makes some comment about her being really flat-chested to break the serious atmosphere.
Cosplay Otaku Girl: Akechi. Will find just about any excuse to dress her classmates in the dresses she made. Works out in her favor during the Cultural Festival, when she is put in charge of the costumes.
Costume Porn: A lot of thought went into designing extremely fashionable outfits for a centaur.
Doing in the Wizard : Despite what it might look like angels, imps, centaurs, cat people etc. are nothing but human subspecies naturally evolved, nothing magical or mythical here. Even the angels' halos are explained as just Idiot Hair with a funny shape.
Eyes Always Shut: Kyouko.
Fanservice: Whenever present-day Hime takes a bath.
Fantastic Racism: Racial equality is a relatively modern thing in this Alternate Universe and still a sensitive topic, as seen in the overly strict anti-hate laws - e.g. riding a centaur is illegal, the centaur being willing notwithstanding, because of a past history of centaurs being enslaved to be used as mounts. The "serpentines" (reptilian inhabitants of Antarctica) still face prejudice outside their native continent.
Fauns and Satyrs: One of the humans sub-species, not any more wild or debauched than any of the other sub-species. Kyouko is a satyr, but since her legs are regular "human" legs, not goat legs, she's probably a case of Mixed Ancestry.
Fiery Redhead: Inverted. While Himeno is carrot-topped, she's actually more of a Shrinking Violet.
Foreign Exchange Student: At the end of the third volumen Quetzalcoatl Sasasul, a serpentine girl, tranfers to Hime's class.
Ghost Story: Chapter nineteen has Hime and the crew telling each other ghost stories as a kind of courage test at the suggestion of the Occult club's vice-president.
Girlish Pigtails: How Himeno styles her hair when she goes to school. Turns into Mega Twintails at one point due to how long her hair had become.
Hair Decorations: Class Rep's hairpins, Hime's hairties.
Heinz Hybrid: The various human subspecies can interbreed succesfully, although some combinations may have high rates of congenital defects, as is the case with centaur/angel pairings. In accordance with Mendelian inheritance laws the offspring may belong to one of either parent's subspecies or it might have traits from both parents, as seen in the youngest of Minami's sisters, Suetsumu, who has angel wings from her mother's side and cat ears and tail from her father's side.
Heir to the Dojo: While it's not glossed upon in-series, Nozomi is part of a well-known family of martial arts practitioners.
Historical In-Joke: A mention of a possible centuar-queen of Russia is a shout-out to a rumor that Alexandra the Great liked to ride horses.
Hive Caste System: The Antarctican government system (soldiers are apparently legless, only the queen lays eggs).
Holy Halo: A racial attribute of the Angels. Subverted in that it's actually just a piece of hair, that can even regrow when (accidentally) cut off.
Horned Humanoid: Of different types too. Kyouko for example is a satyr-type, while Akechi's girlfriend's like a unicorn.
Horse Archer: Pun aside, this is apparently a traditional role of Himeno's family. Both her mother and her aunt are these as well. Likely connected to how Japanese centaurs actually served as Samurai cavalry in this world's history.
Hostage Situation: In chapter eight, with the bad guy using Minami's younger sister, Sue as a Human Shield.
Huge Schoolgirl:
- Himeno. Justified in that she is a centaur, and towers over all of her classmates barring some of the guys like Komori.
- Sasasul is even taller than Hime, even though most of her height comes form her long neck.
If It's You, It's Okay: Hime doesn't mind really kissing Nozomi.
Ill Girl: The Class Rep's little sister Suetsumu gets tired easily, and sometimes gets a fever if she over-exerts herself. Current medicine has yet to determine what's causing it.
Info Dump: Chapter sixteen has Sasasul explaining to her school mates what Anctartica is like.
Interspecies Romance: A real possibility, as the Class Rep's family demonstrates.
Lecture As Exposition: Chapter 5.5, a primer on evolution and race relations in this alternate reality.
Like Reality Unless Noted: Despite the obvious differences, the world is not much different from our own. They seem to have the same geography countries and cultures. Much of the appeal of the manga is noting the small differences having so many different species living together would make to our society.
Little Bit Beastly: The centaurs aside, some of the other races like the Satyrs and Angels look mostly like normal Humans except with some animal attributes, like tails or wings.
Mama Bear: Minami's reaction to someone taking her youngest sister hostage at their own shrine? Asks for (and is given) a spear and threatens to kill the idiot if he doesn't let go of the hostage that instant.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Who or what was the seventh kid who played with Minami's sisters?
Meaningful Name: Guess who gets compared to a princess, and usually gets the role during dramas or plays? Hime^note"princess" in Japanese, of course.
Meganekko: Hime's mom during her high-school years. Later on Miura, the mermaid class rep during their class' summer trip.
Miko: Surprise, Minami the Class Rep is also Minami the shrine maiden. Apparently her family maintains the local shrine.
Missing Mom: The absence of Minami's mother is very noticeable, especially when one considers the size of the family (five girls all told).
Mukokuseki: Merpeople find Kyouko's looks "exotic", although besides her "eyes always shut" face she is drawn just like the rest of the cast.
Mundane Utility: Angel wings can apparently be used as an extra "mantle" to warm themselves during winter. Obviously the Class Rep gets annoyed whenever someone else tries to use hers in this manner.
Mysterious Antarctica: Although serpentines do have diplomatic relations with other countries, their civilization and how do they survive in the frozen continent are complete mysteries. Sasasul clears some of those mysteries in chapter sixteen.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Features prominently in the eventual emancipation of the Centaur slaves in Europe. How? By turning those freed centaur slaves into his armored cavalry, who then wreaked havoc on the armies that Napoleon's forces went up against. As Napoleon's armies advanced, the success of his centaur soldiers then inspire the other centaur slaves to rise up in revolt. Eventually it comes to the point where the English parliament is forced to emancipate its own centaur slaves as a counter to Napoleon (as well as a deterrent to a rebellion). Things then snowballed from there.
Oh Crap: The reaction of everyone at the shrine during the New Year's festival when some hooligan not only causes a car crash in front of it, but also takes the Class Rep's youngest sister Sue hostage.
Our Angels And Demons Are Different: So far they're just two of the many humanoid species, sharing a common ancestor with the rest. Apart from obvious physical issues that halos, horns, wings and tails cause and their societies' reactions to them, they're not really more special or bizarre than any other race.
Our Centaurs Are Different: They are just a human sub-species and not particularly violent or rowdy, unlike their fantasy counterparts. Their equine looks is just evolutionary convergence (this world's horses are actually hexapodal).
Our Mermaids Are Different: They look normal until about knee-level when the legs merge into a sea serpent-like tail, they need to breathe air like any other mammal, and they kind of slither around in waist-deep water at their school.
Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions: Antarcticans don't believe in the supernatural.
Parental Substitute: Minami has pretty much been forced to stand in for her mom in taking care of her younger sisters and looking after the house.
Pointy Ears: A trait of the "Imps", like Hime's friend Nozomi, and their classmate Komori.
Political Correctness Gone Mad: Because of their physical differences, this world is plagued with a history of even worse racism and violence than our own. The races seem to live together in peace now (with the exception of some of the more "exotic" or isolated races), but the anti-racism laws are so strict that, for example, riding a centaur is a hate crime even if the centaur is the one offering, and all magical girls shows must include magical girls of every race with the main character changing every episode. Society even stresses "unity" over individuality.
Pool Episode: Chapter seventeen.
Princess Carry: Done by a longear for his siren/mermaid girlfriend at the end of Chapter 7. Seeing this causes Hime to wish someone would do the same for her, which prompts the response below:
Kyouko: You'd have to date a crane (the construction vehicle)!
Quirky Curls: Hime's hair. Akechi points out however that with some effort, it can turn into Regal Ringlets.
Rapunzel Hair: Himeno's impressive fall of hair.
Recurring Extra: There's a catguy and mermaid couple that show up once in a while.
The Reptilians: The Antarcticans, or "serpentines". Somewhat demonized and antagonistical, they are the only species shown some silent prejudice. They are even rumoured to be of alien origin (in fact, they're of the dinosaur family, like birds).
Reptiles Are Abhorrent: As mentioned above, the Antarctican serpentines face segregation due to this view and their mysterious, isolated culture.
Same Sex Triplets: Minami's Alliterative Family Chigusa, Chinami and Chiho.
Schoolgirl Lesbians: Not Hime and her friends, but their classmates Akechi and her girlfriend. No one seems to find it strange though.
Security Blanket: Mr. Steppy, the bathroom stool Hime used to use as a child.
Security Cling: Hime and Sasasul momentarily cling together while watching The Fear From Antarctica.
Slasher Smile: Sasasul attempts at smiling like a human are disastrous.
Shout Out: The Fear from Antarctica is adapted from a novel and it has a black-and-white version and a color one, just like The Thing from Another World.
- Another movie appears to be 300 with centaurs.
Single Minded Triplets: Three of the Class Rep's little sisters are almost a hive-mind. So much so that they're collectively called "Chi-chan" as if they're one person, anyway.
Stunned Silence: Pretty much the reaction of everyone in Hime's class when Hime kisses Nozomi for real during play practice.
The Talk: The first chapter is basically Nozomi and Kyouko heroically reassuring Hime that she is normal "down there".
Those Wacky Nazis: There are neo-nazis in this alternate world, and they have their old penchant for secret weapons.
Tomboy: Nozomi gives this impression. Her short and boyish Messy Hair does not help matters any.
Two Fisted Tales: The backstory includes a Lost World populated with snake-men, a modern Aztec empire, mass UFO sightings and neo-nazis: not your average Slice of Life setting (even if you ignore the centaurs).
Unscaled Merfolk: The tail doesn't begin until knee-level (their bodies are normal above that, avoiding The Mermaid Problem), it is long like a sea serpent's, and they kind of slither around in waist-deep water. At least in school, to keep the books dry. They do originate from the sea, from aquatical primates.
Vertebrate with Extra Limbs: All land vertebrates on this Earth come from a lineage of hexapodal amphibians (including humans), although some (like tigers and cats) may have lost some of them in the evolutionary road. However, even those that only have four limbs still have internal remnants of central limbs, which either evolved into other organs or are just too small to see from outside.
White-Haired Pretty Girl: Minami/the Class Rep and her youngest sister Suetsumu.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Hime is afraid of snakes since she saw The Fear from Antarctica when she was a kid.
Winged Humanoid: "Imps" and "Angels". Himeno's friend Nozomi is an example of the former, while the Class Rep is an example of the latter. Subverted in that their wings cannot actually be used to fly.
Wise Beyond Their Years: Minami the Class Rep is way too serious and world-weary for a teenager her age. This is due to all the responsibilities she's had to take up at home, like taking care of her younger sisters and looking after the finances of the local shrine, on top of the ones she holds at school.
World Building: An impressive case with regards to its setting, given how this is technically a Slice of Life story about teenaged girls.
Xenofiction: A rare total example in the medium.